1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a service cart for skilled tradesmen. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wheeled, compartmentalized tool and hardware supply mobile caddy adapted to be used as a seat or support, as well as a mobile storage unit for conveying tools and hardware supplies to the job site and to make these readily accessible to the skilled tradesman to carry out the daily work activities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of caddies, carts, or carriers for transporting tools, gardening implements or miscellaneous gear for pleasure or work performing activities is well known in the prior art. The crowded prior art is repleat with a myriad of designs which have been developed for countless specific objectives and requirements. For example, Keddie, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,963 discloses a tool caddy stool that is carried by the user and is specifically made for sitting on or for standing on, as well as to store and carry tools so as to keep tools within easy reach during performance, repair, maintenance or construction of various tasks. Bergeron, U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,771 discloses a wheeled caddy for washing a vehicle which consists of a base assembly with a base member mounted on a wheel assembly carrying a support member which includes cleaning accessory holders, as well as a bucket at the top thereof to contain a vehicle washing liquid. Perelli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,039 teaches a dolly having multiple supports hingedly joined together to carry around containers, either one or two, for collecting trash, fluids or refuge. The joined assembly is capable of flexing between the containers and pulling one container onto a floor with a different elevation and is stable when maneuvering around corners and further provides the ability to rotate one platform with respect to an adjacent platform for storage purposes. Finally, Carrelli, U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,325 discloses a mobile paint caddy in the form of a multipurpose cart useful for transporting and supporting paint buckets, paint supplies such as brushes and rollers or an open paint can. In one embodiment of the mobile paint caddy, two pairs of suitable small diameter wheels extend below each end portion of the frame, and two pair of non-swivelable, larger diameter wheels extend below the central portion of the frame. A handle and the pair of larger diameter wheels enable the user to transmit a pivoting force to one end of the frame, whereupon the small diameter wheels adjacent thereto are driven into engagement with the ground and the large diameter wheels at the other end of the frame are lifted out of contact with the ground surface.
The efficiency of mobile skilled trade and service personnel has been severely hampered due to problems associated with the transportation of essential tools and material supplies from a van or service vehicle to the point at the job site where they are needed. Although most tradesmen have shelving, drawers or drawer units within or about the vehicle so as to organize their tools and materials, which permits the tradesman to transport their tools to the job site, once on the job site, the tradesman must physically carry the tools from the vehicle to the actual working area. Also, with respect to a mechanic or especially a home handyman who contemplate doing home repairs, maintenance or construction work on objects in the home or other sites discover that the project requires some tools and hardware other than what they are able to carry at one time to the work place. The traditional and probably the only suitable response to this situation is to make several trips back and forth to a tool and hardware storage place such as a garage, a basement or a truck parked on the street to get those items which they unexpectedly needed. Such conduct creates fatigue and obviously in terms of a tradesman, adds to the cost of a project as a result of the inefficiency related thereto. Numerous toolboxes, chests, racks and the like have been proposed to utilize for carrying different types of tools. Some workers, especially mechanics, require easy and convenient access to large numbers of relatively small tools. Others, such as tradesmen, require a limited number of tools but require a rather large supply of miscellaneous parts specific to the activity such as electricians and plumbers but have no convenient way to convey these from their service vehicle to the actual job site. Furthermore, as most tradesmen or home mechanics have discovered, the site of an installation, repair or maintenance activity is never situated at a level at which it is comfortable to do the work. Sometimes, the site is low so squatting to work on it seems desirable. In such cases, when after working at such a level, the worker decides to stand upright, his knees inform him that squatting for a long time was indeed undesirable.